Thursday 19 May 2011 13.02 EDT
First published on Thursday 19 May 2011 13.02 EDT

Alex Salmond has created a cabinet post for the promotion of Scottish political and cultural interests around the world in a strong indication that he plans to promote independence to a global audience.

The Scottish National party first minister announced on Thursday that he had expanded the Scottish government, creating three more cabinet secretary posts to cover culture and external relations, capital investment and parliamentary business at Holyrood.

The expansion of the government to nine cabinet secretaries provoked criticism from opposition parties, which pointed out that Salmond had previously promised to avoid bloated government and run a slimmed-down administration with fewer ministerial posts.

The culture secretary post has been given to Fiona Hyslop – who held the same position at a lower ministerial rank in the last government – because of "the extraordinary international interest in Scotland's progress" since Salmond's SNP won a landslide election victory on 5 May.

"Major new opportunities are opening up on the global stage, with enormous and growing international interest in Scotland and, as cabinet secretary, Fiona Hyslop will be in a position to ensure that these are realised in full for the nation's commercial and cultural benefit," the first minister said.

Bruce Crawford, who served as Salmond's fixer and deal-maker as business manager in the last parliament, will be joining Hyslop in the cabinet.

As well as promoting cross-departmental working, Salmond said Crawford's role had been enhanced to "seek the maximum possible support for the government's policy and legislative proposals regardless of our majority position".

Salmond created a new post for Alex Neil, in charge of infrastructure and capital investment, to reflect "the Scottish government's priority of sustaining capital spending in the face of Westminster cuts in order to strengthen Scotland's recovery". He said: "That would be a good start in taking Scotland forward from here."

The first minister has kept every other cabinet secretary in the same posts – Nicola Sturgeon remains in charge of health, John Swinney remains as the finance secretary, and Mike Russell remains the education secretary, while Kenny McAskill retains justice and Richard Lochhead the environment portfolio.

"This week, we saw that three of the four unemployment blackspots in the United Kingdom are in Scotland," he said. "The most urgent and pressing matter for the government is how to exercise the powers it has to create jobs now."

After the retirement of Elish Angiolini – Scotland's first female Lord Advocate – her deputy, Frank Mulholland, was appointed as her successor. The new solicitor general will be Lesley Thomson, the regional procurator fiscal, or chief prosecutor, for Glasgow and Strathkelvin. Junior ministerial posts will be announced on Friday.

The Scottish government attempted to head off criticism of the enlarged cabinet by arguing that, at nine members, it remained smaller than the 10 cabinet members during Donald Dewar's first coalition government and the 11 during Henry McLeish's and Jack McConnell's terms as first minister.

Underlining his austerity drive in the civil service, Salmond said all ministerial salaries would remain at 2008 levels.

Labour responded by quoting back his frequent pledges to make government more efficient and employ "a smaller, better-focused ministerial team".

Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader, also said the extended government would cost more. "This is not a good example of belt tightening when many families face uncertainty over jobs, paying their bills and making ends meet," she said.

"Alex Salmond should set a better example of sound housekeeping, not bloated government at the taxpayers' expense."